Image Broken, Heart Broken - It Matters

Father, how your heart must break.

This morning I woke up to the anguish of more senseless death.  Immediately I felt the weight of the sorrow, the lament of loss, the confusion and frustration of others, and the impending onslaught of vitriol and anger spewing opinion after opinion about whose lives matter most.

My heart broke…it still breaks.

Yet in prayer this morning, I couldn’t get past how much sorrow this must bring you, O God.

You God, the One that has knit each and every person on this earth together in the wombs of their mothers.  You God, the One that refuses to see the color of skin, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, political agenda, ethnic origin, or the job one holds as the primary identifier of our lives, but instead chooses to see us first and foremost as your beloved children. 

How your heart must break when your children lash out against one another.

 

Now Lord, I pray you are prepared for what we will do with these stories.  We will use them.  We will use them to push already established agendas moving to demands for action without pausing for confession and lament.

 

We will use these stories as evidence of your non-existence.

Some will say, “If there is a God how could he let these kinds of things to continually happen?”

Really, Lord.  How foolish we are that we would for a second attempt to pawn these actions of death, brutality, violence, hatred, injustice, and retaliation on to you.  It’s like we’ve learned nothing from our Genesis predecessors.  We like Adam are still pushing off blame on to you as he did in the garden.  We like Cain are still refusing to be our brother’s keeper.  We are responsible.  We are responsible for the hate, fear, anger, and brutality that resides deep in the core of our hearts.

We give space for prejudice to fester.

We justify retaliation.

We incite violence in response to violence as though that is ever the answer.

We expect those that serve and defend to do so on streets filled with dangerous weapons, day after day and night after night, with little pay, little respect, and even less appreciation.

 

We seek to narrowly define our neighbors like the expert in the law in Luke 10 to ensure we call “neighbor” only those that are already most like us, who think like us, who look like us, and who act like us.  This narrow definition gives us permission to make “them” out to be the bad guys and gals.

 

Shame on us, O Lord.  This is not your fault, but our failure.  It is our failure to live into the amazingly high calling to be the Image of God.  We mar, corrupt, and pervert your image leaving you almost indistinguishable in the lives of humanity. 

Lord, some will say, “This is the sign that the end is near.”  Perhaps, I don’t know.  I know this isn’t the first time in history that you’ve witnessed your children destroy one another at alarming rates.  I’m afraid the doomsday prophet is again passing off responsibility.  The desire to escape is a failure to reckon with integrity and faithfulness with the world we live in now.

 

To hope for the end of all things simply means we don’t have to change our attitudes and actions.  It means the world can go to hell in a handbasket and at the last minute you come to swoop down and save the day, leaving us to say, “Thank God, I thought I was going to have to do something there.”

 

And yet when Jesus prayed…

“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.” 

Something about what we do here matters. 

Our attitudes matter. 

The hate, fear, and prejudice in our hearts matter.  Our anger and hatred that produces violence and death matters.  Our inability and unwillingness to change the systemic issues of injustice in our society matters.  Our intolerance and our willingness to stereotype those with whom we disagree matters. 

The lives of the weak and defenseless matters.  The lives of those that stand in defense of the weak and defenseless matters.  The neighbor with whom we have nothing in common matters. 

The rainbow flag waving member of the LGBTQ community matters.

The man who kissed his baby girl on the forehead before leaving his house, shield fixed on his chest believing he’s making a difference for the good, unsure of the danger lurking around every corner matters.

The burqa wearing woman matters.

The hooded black teen matters.

The white family in suburbia matters.

The man who risked his life crossing the border in search of a job to support his family matters.

The suit wearing Baptist standing on the front steps of his church matters.

The mentally ill matter.  The elderly matter.  The orphan matters.  The homeless matter.

 

They all matter!  What we do matters…why?  Because it matters to you!  Because you, O God, see a world you’ve crafted with your own hands and lives you’ve molded to reflect your image run amuck and your heart breaks.  What happens here, what happens to us, what we choose to do to one another matters.

Until we deal decisively with the corruption lingering deep in our hearts, until we are willing to confess our sins, until we stop seeking someone to blame or an escape hatch to get us out of this big bad place, we will be destined to replay the history of brutality and sadness, heartache and violence.  Only once we realize that every seed of prejudice, hate, and unchecked anger planted gives rise to a society that turns on itself and devours itself, will we be positioned to make a difference.

Violence begets violence.

Prejudice begets prejudice.

Hate begets hate.

Blame passes off responsibility.

Lord, teach us to both lament and confess.  Teach us to lament that which breaks your heart, the death of all…because all matter to YOU!  Teach us to confess instead of assigning blame.  Teach us to nurture with great responsibility, sacrifice, and diligence the world as we have it now, so that, perhaps somehow your divine intentions for peace, love, and hope can be glimpsed through our actions of brother keeping and neighbor making.  

Lord have your way with us.  

Goosing My Wife: Developing a Vision for Marriage

We want to be one of those couples still goosing one another in the kitchen at 65 making our grandkids cringe with disgust.

This is my customary answer when I talk with couples in preparation for marriage.  I ask them, “What’s your preferred picture of the future?  What do you want your marriage to look like in thirty or forty years?”

See I just showed my hand a little bit there.  There’s a philosophy of life at work there.  I tend to believe that life is more meaningful if there is a picture driving our actions.  If there’s something out front of us, something that captivates our imagination, something that screams, “Yes, when we get there, this is what I want it to look like,” I believe our day to day actions tend to hold together.  Now, before you go all sentimental on me, I have a pretty strong realist vein that runs through my body.  It’s the kind of vein that says, “nothing is guaranteed.”  Right, I get that.  Any number of situations or issues could arise that makes that picture impossible.  But without a picture, I often feel as though I’m taking on life willy-nilly, with little glue that holds together my actions, words, ambitions, and relationships.

 

So I choose a picture.

And in my picture I’m goosing my wife in the kitchen at 65.  That’s my picture, what’s yours?

Now wait…

Before you answer that question, there is something you ought to know.  The moment you choose a picture, you are responsible for the work that makes that picture possible.  That means, daily, we choose actions, attitudes, and words that lend themselves to the greatest possibility of making that picture possible.  Listen, if I haven’t done the daily work of caring for my wife, loving her, making time for her, flirting with her, then by the time we get to 65 and I try to goose her, she’s liable to pop knots in my head with a skillet.

We don’t just arrive at our picture.  We lean in toward our picture by choosing to act daily in ways that make that picture possible.

Now wait…

I need to back up for a moment.

We didn’t get married with a picture in mind.  In fact, I’m not sure what we were thinking when we got married.  We were two young (21 and 22) kids, infatuated with the idea of love, steeped in Hollywood romanticism, about as far as we could be from God, and wrapped in a number of dysfunctions and addictions.   Put more simply, we had relatives taking bets at our wedding about how many months it would last.  We got 6 months from one (which we almost proved right).  For the first three years of marriage, we had no picture in mind, only survival.  We were two deeply selfish, sinful, messy, broken, people trying to navigate a path with multiple twists and turns, in the dark.  Talk about the blind leading the blind.

In those first 3 years we nearly divorced six times.

In those first 3 years we did nearly everything a couple could do to wound one another.

 

In those first 3 years two little boys were the only two threads holding together an unraveling relationship.

But then…

Jesus.

Three years into our marriage, separated by a military deployment, determined to divorce upon my return, Jesus happened.  Thousands of miles away, a month apart from one another, Jesus showed up in our lives and called us to be His followers.  Three years into our marriage, Jesus dismantled our old selves, those old nasty, broken, selfish, sinful selves and made us new creations.  And something changed!  And He was bringing us back together.

Wait don’t cue the doves and Kenny G music yet.   There was a moment in flying back from the Balkans that it hit me, “Wait, we didn’t like each other much when we weren’t Jesus followers, what makes me think we will like each other now that we are?”  But when I walked into the gym where we were to meet our families after our arrival, I saw the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life.  It was the first time I’d seen my wife without the veil of sin covering my eyes.

But wait…

We had a lot of work to do.

Work.  There’s that word again.  We knew that the damage we’d done to one another wouldn’t be healed up easily.  Oh yeah, and besides being made new creations, we still lacked the resources and tools to make a strong marriage.  We were now walking in grace, a little less young, but still dumb.  We had some learning and maturing to do.

But where would we turn?

To Jesus…well of course.

But also…

To His church.

The first weekend I was home, Angie and I were determined to find a church where God was working.  She suggested the Nazarene church in Clarksville because that’s where she’d gotten saved.  Not having any idea what a Nazarene was, I reluctantly said ok.  And that’s where it started, my first weekend back from deployment.  Immediately Angie and I connected to a church family that took interest in us. 

Crazy, right?

Here was a group of people who wanted to make an investment in a couple, former alcoholics, messy, broken, bar-hopping, bouncer, party-going, still a little rough around the edges.  What were they thinking?  Ah, they were just showing us the same love and acceptance that Jesus had already shown us.  We didn’t know much about words like “Incarnation” back then, but quickly that community became the hands and feet of Jesus in our lives. 

And then…

They said, “We’ve got tools.”

And boy did they ever.

We were surrounded with love, encouragement, wisdom, and healthy examples of what a faith-filled couple looks like.  Each Thursday evening for about 6 months or more, a lay person named Earl came to our home at 9pm after our children had gone to bed and poured into our lives.  He was discipling us (we didn’t know that word either).  He talked to us about what it means to be healthy followers of Jesus and serve one another selflessly.  He began to help us understand the work required in making marriage work.

Then there were those two couples.

Remember that damage we did for three years?  Well one night that came to surface.  In that moment, we were threatened.  This thing could go either way.  Some pain, some scars aren’t healed easily or at a moment at an altar.  Sometimes they take time.  AND…community!  That night two couples were there for us.  The guys took me to a different house.  The women stayed with Angie at our house.

How long?

All night!  There they stood alongside us, wept with us, prayed us through the evening, and for the days and weeks following continually spoke into our lives.  We wouldn’t have made it through that night had it not been for the church.

That’s right, I said it.  The church saved our marriage.

 

They taught us crazy things.  You know like, “the world doesn’t revolve around either of us.”  (I still struggle with that one.)  They taught us how to communicate with one another.  They walked through the grief process of the death of both of Angie’s parents.  In fact, when Angie’s mother died three weeks after we arrived at our first Senior Pastor assignment without insurance, it was the church, Erin Church of the Nazarene, in Tennessee, that took up a secret offering to pay for the funeral expenses in full. 

They taught us about commitment and devotion.

 

I still remember driving home from church one morning when it hit me, “Angie, divorce is no longer an option.”  She said, “How can you say that?  You don’t know what might happen.”  I said, “As long as it’s not an option then we will have to live each and every day like it’s not an option.  That means if we are stuck with one another from this day forward, we better be more committed to blessing one another than being obnoxiously selfish.”

But that wasn’t all…

They taught us to be committed Jesus followers.  We learned about the necessity of prayer to guard our tongues from saying things we’d later regret.  We discovered the necessity of maintaining purity in our sexuality with one another, to protect our intimacy from outside influences.  We even learned that our marriage isn’t the end all be all.  Our marriage was caught up into something bigger than us.

It is the Kingdom of God.

Our marriage isn’t simply about our happiness.  It is about living lives that give credible witness to redemptive, reconciling, restorative Kingdom of God.  That means the picture I have isn’t simply about the picture.  It means that the daily sacrificial, selfless, humble, thoughtful, peace-making actions and words that dot the landscape of our lives give human flesh to the Kingdom of God.

 

Wait a minute.

That means…we were being shaped in our marriage to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others.  Now the church wasn’t just helping us.  We were the church giving our lives away to others. 

And then…

You know what happened as we learned new tools?  A picture started to emerge.  It was no longer a picture of survival, but instead, a picture of flourishing.  We could, because of Jesus and the impact of His church see a future.  And in that picture I was goosing my wife in the kitchen at 65.  

Show and Tell: Recovering Christian Mission

How is it that Kindergartners have managed to capture a balance that so few Christians seem to hold?  We all remember that favorite day of the week, the “Show and Tell” day in Kindergarten.  You prepared for weeks.  You knew days before what sweet little gem of a toy (authorized by your teachers and parents which made it even better) that you’d carry to the school.  You couldn’t wait to show off to your friends what you were convinced was the greatest toy EVER!  See Kindergartners get it!  You don’t just bring in the toy and set it on the shelf hoping everyone will see it.  Likewise, you don’t forget it at home and just try really hard to describe it.  No!  You bring it and you talk about it.  The two go hand in hand.  Let them see it, feel it, experience it, right?  But then tell them about it.  Ohhhh, to be more like children.

I’ve spent the last 13 years of my adult life running in multiple Christian traditions.  I call home a conservative evangelical tradition.  I’ve got an advanced degree from perhaps one of the most liberal divinity programs.  I’ve been enriched by the various voices I’ve listened to and been challenged by.  However, I find myself wanting to yell (too often I might add), “Quit telling me it’s either/or!  The Kingdom of God is both/and!” 

The Loss of Balance

There are many in Christian circles that want to suggest that the Kingdom of God is about Local Social Transformation.  They are the pioneers of social activism, racial reconciliation, economic equality, and distributive justice.  They get things done.   They start food pantries, shelters, orphanages, and social movements to challenge the powers of injustice.  They are often both socially and politically liberal (and a lot of fun to hang out with I might add).  However, the thought of “getting someone saved” makes many of them a bit nauseous.  They believe that’s the residue of a misappropriated understanding of Jesus’ gospel.  They would prefer the often attributed statement of St. Francis Assisi, “Preach the gospel always, use words if necessary.”  Though they’d tweek that a bit.  They might say, “Preach the gospel always…through what you do.  Shut up and just do it.  Quit trying to ram Jesus down their throats.  Transform communities and that will suffice.”  They are big on the “Show.”

Then there is my native tribe, the evangelicals.  We prefer a different route.  All that liberal, social transformation seems to miss the point.  Unfortunately, much of this reluctance toward the “liberal agenda” is based on a misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God and the future of all things.  Anyways, there is a tendency to believe among evangelicals that to focus on the “show” part of the equation is nothing more than gospel that feeds people but leaves them stuck in their sin.  Getting them saved is what’s important!  We are big on the “Tell.”  Evangelicals talk A LOT!  We talk A LOT about EVERYTHING!  We tend to be more conservative socially and politically (this current election season notwithstanding…we Evangelicals have lost our minds and abandoned all good sense).  We are passionate about prayer and the Word (and some are a lot of fun to hang out with because we’ve got great stories of people’s lives transformed by the power of God.)

But “show” and “tell” don’t often know how to play well with one another.  You either sit it on the shelf hoping everyone sees it or you leave it at home and try really hard to describe it.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

When we lose balance, I fear we cease to be the church that God called to give witness to His Kingdom in this world.  I believe that Gospel Saturation and Local Social Transformation were meant for one another.  I was grabbed at a recent conference by the language of Gospel Saturation.  We’ve got really good news as Christians!  It’s really good!  Our story is one of redemption and the power of God.  It’s a story that suggests that the forces of evil and darkness have been conquered by the love and power of God.  It is a story that makes space for every outside and outlier.  It’s the story of Jesus, the one who proclaimed the coming of a Kingdom where God makes right what’s wrong…and then…He invites us to join Him in that venture.  He calls us to leave behind our old lives and join Him in the New Story…by which we are “saved (or being saved)” and becoming followers of Jesus!  Gospel Saturation is courageous telling.  It’s the belief that the broken and sinful need a better story.  Why on earth would we keep that story to ourselves.  We got to tell!  We got to share!  We got to invite! 

As we…

participate in the Local Social Transformation of our communities.  We are talking about a Kingdom folks.  That’s big news.  The invitation Jesus offers is not just to fix my soul.  It’s the call to join Him as he fixes the world.  Living in the balance is the belief that Jesus has a bigger vision than just getting a few isolated souls out of hell.  He wants to remedy the hell on earth that so many live constrained by.  We might even suggest that only by participating in Local Social Transformation, by “showing” the Kingdom will people be able to hear what we seek to “tell” them.  By participating with Jesus in healing a broken world, feeding hungry people, standing against racial, social, and economic injustice gives powerful witness to the full ramifications of redemption here on earth.  This is not social activism.  This is Kingdom transformation.  We got to act!  We got to work!  We got to feed!

As we…

extend the invitation that could literally transform a life. 

The Power of Show AND Tell

The confusion of which we ought to do has left too many churches confused about their identity.  One preacher tells them to help at the soup kitchen.  Their next preacher tells them to learn methods of personal evangelism.  For preachers that lose their way, they focus too much on the administrative and organizational efforts of the church and whine incessantly because of all the obstacles preventing them from growing their little kingdoms. 

But!!  When the church recovers the both/and of “show and tell,” of Gospel Saturation and Local Social Transformation, the church becomes a powerful vessel through which the love and grace, the passion and power of God can spill out into communities.  Both/and helps the church recover its Missional Identity in this world!  It ensures that both actions and words are offered to the glory of God.  It ensures that those whose external circumstances are transformed by the generous faithful actions of God’s people also have the opportunity to have their internal circumstances transformed as they are liberated from sin’s clutches. 

We have much to learn from kindergartners.  

10 Rules for Ministry Leadership

Ministry is tricky.  It's about love, patience, tenderness and compassion, right?  Yes, absolutely.  But sometimes in ministry we actually find ourselves leading people.  In fact, for many people in ministry, they lead people often...like everyday.  That's not easy and it requires a certain kind of moxy.  It demands a certain kind of integrity.  I don't know that we often take the time to really evaluate key principles of what it means to be an effective ministry leader.

The following is a short list that I belive will help a ministry leader evaluate their capacity in leading those that they've been entrusted with.

10.)  If you break it, you own it.
This doesn't mean that if you break a piece of equipment you need to pay for it (though it might).  Actually this means that if you botch something, PLEASE have the integrity to name it.  Don't try to juke and jive to get out of it.  Raise your hand around your team and say, "That's on me.  I own it."  Chances are they already know it, but your stock goes way up as a leader if you have the courage to take responsibility.

9.)    If you don’t know it, don’t say you got it.
There are few things more frustrating for a senior leader than someone that is inexperienced always trying to ensure others, "I got it, I got it."  There is a reason that senior leader is having a conversation with you.  They can tell, "You don't got it."  Coaching is a part of leadership development but requires a teachable spirit.  If you are bound and determined to convince people you know how to do what you have no experience doing, you will be destined to repeat mistakes.  Ask questions when you don't know.  Admit weaknesses when you have them.  You will do much better on the learning curve.

8.)    If you are struggling with it, name it.
No one's life is perfect.  This tends to be one of the glaring and most unfortunate misnomers about leadership.  "I can't let people see me sweat."  We assume that ministry leadership requires us to put off a pristine persona.  NOPE!  A lack of vulnerability leads to a crash.  A strong leader finds a trusted confidant and a trusted supervisor and shares struggles.  They have the capacity to name needed intervention early rather than damage control after the fact.

7.)    If you forgot about it, don’t justify it.
Excuse my language for a moment.  We all have a "brain fart" from time to time.  It's normal.  However, when you lack the courage to name what you forgot, you force your team to spend a great deal of time navigating around your error wondering if you knew you had an error.  Likewise, don't make an excuse for why you forgot.  We all have excuses and generally few people care what they are.  Say, "It slipped my mind and I'll work to do better next time."  Then move on with your bad self.
 
6.)    If your team blows it, don’t pass off blame about it.
DON'T throw others under the bus.  You know what makes leadership hard?  At some level the responsibility lands with you.  That's why so few people want to lead.  If your team messes something up, a strong leader steps in and owns responsibility.  It doesn't mean they don't have a conversation down the road, it just means they take the first shot for their team.  Much ministry is voluteer based and the last thing volunteers need is to feel like failures.  You take a bullet for your team and you gain loyalty.

5.)    If you are frustrated about it, be careful where you complain about it.
Ministry leaders don't have the privilege of "running off at the mouth."  Unfortunately in my nearly 15 years of ministry this is often forgotten.  Peopel listen.  When you communicate your frustration with "so and so" or the other leaders or even the board, those listening will run with that, twist it, and you can quickly find yourself in a mess you never intended.  Leaders have the moxy to go directly to the person with whom they are frustrated and understand the prudence of where to speak, when, and with whom.  If you are running your mouth in the lobby, it will hit you like a truck later in your ministry.

4.)    If you start your week unsure of what you will do with it, you will waste it. 

This is specifically for pastors.  Don't go into Monday completely unsure of what you are going to get into.  Make and keep a calendar.  Block out your time.  If you have an administrator share it with them.  This ensures you have a game plan, steward your time well, and don't arrive at the end of the week wondering what on earth happened.  

3.)    If you’ve got something to say to them about it, do it, time it, be appropriate about it.

There is nothing worse than a leader that does end arounds or takes passive agressive stabs.  Both of these tactics are cowardice.  Yuck!  No, have the kind of mojo where you will take the Bible seriously about going to the person with whom you have an issue.  Don't say to others about a person what you aren't first willing to say to their face.  If those following you hear you do this they won't know if you can be trusted and if you are doing the same to them later.  

2.)    If you succeeded in it, pass off the praise to your team for it.

This is the flip side of Rule #6.  Everyone like kudos, but teams like "we win."  Leaders who are self-aggrandizing "stars" who love to see their names in lights are annoying to the teams that put them there.  Leaders pass off kudos.  True leaders don't need to be the center of the spotlight.  Instead they are like a prism that reflects the spotlight to the team that surrounded them.  

1.)    If you are passionate about it, you will be careful how you treat it. 

News flash...MINISTRY ISN'T A JOB!  It is a CALLING!  When we treat ministry like a job we are constantly worried about upward mobility, time clocks, and compensation.  Yep, that sounds like the Jesus model, right?  NOPE!  In fact, a calling is something shaped by passion.  We don't hire "ministers" we call them.  We don't merely recruit "volunteers" to plug our organizational holes, we are helping people discover their full-redemptive potential.  That means some late nights.  That means you might not get paid enough.  However, when a passion for the Kingdom usurps the calculations of job performance, amazing things can happen.  

I hope this short list helps you to evaluate your ministry effectiveness.  Are you the kind of leader people will follow?

It May Just Depend on Prayer

We often hear that it all “rises and falls on leadership.”  Though I believe that God leverages influence, position, authority, social intelligence, and vision to move and shape organizations and churches, I’m not all that convinced it all rises and falls there.  In fact, I tend to believe that it all rises and falls on prayer. 

I know, I know…this sounds like a preacher getting all churchy.  Maybe that’s true.  However, the longer I walk this journey, the more convinced I become that true transformation, the kind that God longs for through his redemptive vision of Jesus Christ is only possible as the people of God humble themselves, acknowledge they don’t within themselves have the influence, position, etc. to bring about change, and pray will God’s dream become a reality. 

This morning a few pastors (Grace Methodist, Pekin Congregational Church, Salvation Army, and Bridgeway Community Church) from all over Pekin gathered in front of City Hall for prayer.  Why?  Because we are passionate for our city.  We are passionate to see the kind of healing in our community that would bring about substantial change in the lives of the hurting, the broken, the weary, the addicted, the forgotten, and frustrated.  We are passionate for Pekin to become the kind of community with a story that people love to tell…a story of hope, healing, and possibility.  We know that doesn’t begin with city leadership, mayors, councils, or initiatives.  It begins with prayer.  God will use all those various entities in our community…but PRAYER first. 

Through the passionate commitment of Pam Cochran, minister at Grace United Methodist in Pekin, the ministerial alliance has reconvened in this last year.  Pam said, “When I arrived in town and found out that ministerial alliance had disbanded, I wept.”  She believes it’s only through unity can this community become all that God has called and created it to be.  A huge part of that commitment to solidarity and unity is prayer. 

Each Tuesday Morning, we intend to gather throughout our city for a time of prayer.  8am each week, we will ask God to move in the city of Pekin and throughout the county of Tazewell in a powerful way.  For the next several weeks, we will be standing just outside the steps of city hall.  We would love to invite any pastor or parishioner that is passionate for their city, has the time available on Tuesday mornings, and would like to gather for a time of prayer to come and join us.  There is no agenda and there is no “denominational” division.  This is a time of prayer,  solidarity, and unity for the sake of our community. 

God is moving.  This isn’t the only movement of solidarity happening throughout our community.  Monthly the “War Room Men” meet at the building at Sabella Street for a unity breakfast led by Tim Sorrells.  This last month nearly 200 men from over 30 churches gathered together to encourage and strengthen one another.  This is another witness to the way in which God is at work, uniting Christians throughout the community for the sake of our community. 

Let us lock arms, fall on our knees, and join our voices together, calling upon God to work out His will and His way in our community.  May God mend the broken hearted, comfort the afflicted, release the bound up and addicted, grant wisdom to our leaders, and pour out the full force of his blessings and grace in the city of Pekin and the county of Tazewell.  

Breaking Silence - "Trumpism - The Emergence of an Ideological Cult?"

Breaking Silence

“Trumpism – The Emergence of an Ideological Cult?”

As a pastor, I try to stay out of politics.  Religion is often divisive enough, let alone add politics to the mix.  Likewise, I have no joy in poking around in my people’s political affiliations.  But occasionally there is a time when I must for the sake of conscience and faithfulness break silence to preserve the integrity of my call.  Since people hate when preachers “get political,” I thought I would take a look at Donald Trump from a “religious” perspective.  So here goes…well whatever.

If Donald Trump were espousing a rhetoric of religion, he’d be considered the leader of an emerging cult.  That alone should cause us to pause and think deeply about the interior condition of our country and our souls.  To blindly be swept up in the fascination and propaganda of Trump’s machine could very well mean the giving away of our souls to the abyss and desolation of religious, ideological, and political nihilism…or nothingness.  It is nothingness that could steal our souls. 

Cults gather around a charismatic leader, one that often emerges from out of “nowhere” as an answer to the prevailing despair felt by many.  Their charm, boldness, and brazen promises endear them to the hearts of those seeking a “messiah-like” figure, someone to save them from this wretched place.  Their brilliance and power is not found in appeals to reason or intellect but to emotions and tugging on heartstrings, emotions frazzled by a culture of crisis, division, uncertainty, and “lostness.”  They swoop in with the promise to gather “all” under their wings, shielding them from all that’s wrong (whether the “bad” politicians, the lying media, or by building a wall.) 

When the hearts of a critical mass have been captivated, the cult leader moves to a spiritual control of the imagination.  They say little of substance, but what they do say they say with a vigor and passion making it appear as though there are only two choices, perdition or their way.  They become the only viable option.  Their control and manipulation of truth is insidious.  They ensure that all other voices are doubted.  Everyone else lies.  The cult leader is the only one that can be trusted.  The cult leader is the final arbiter of truth.  “You can trust me,” they say, “because I’m the only one with your best in mind.” 

They take on the martyr complex, the cult leader against the world.  All naysayers are members of the establishment who refuse to accept the cult leaders’ hope.  The media, pundits, and other politicians (all of which are needed by the cult leader to spread his version of truth) have in mind to crucify him.  They begin to tout, “All voices of truth must suffer.”  However, he assures he has the power to overcome the forces of deceit that launch attacks. 

They lay the groundwork for a systematic dismantling of all freedom and forms of public discourse that call into question the agenda of the leader.  They begin to quarantine their followers from outside influence.  Trump has already said he would seek to immediately modify libel and slander laws to ensure it is easier to sue the media.  How long until he prosecutes bloggers who disagree with his policy or restricts freedom of assembly in protest to his programs?  He’s already said he wishes he could censor the internet.  He seeks to limit religious freedom, first for the Muslim, but in taking on the Pope, how long before he levies attacks against pastors and Christian faith communities that refuse to buy his version of truth?  Their restriction of freedom is always done “for good of the people.”  People need to be protected from themselves.

They use religion as a means to serve their ends.  Playing upon the emotional and psychological power of religious language, symbols, and traditions, they “take on the role” (the cult leader shifts identity to meet the needs of the time) of religious participant and even one who “reads the bible more than anyone else.”  No regard is afforded to the disparity between one’s espousal of faith and the lack of congruence in life and example with that espousal.  

They seek to discredit, dismantle, or destroy supposed adversaries like school-yard bullies.  Their rhetoric is taken from the playgrounds of America.  Others are “dumb, stupid, weak, basket-cases, chokers, or failures.”  They play on the physical characteristics of others in hopes of picturing opponents as cartoon characters that can be easily dismissed.

They operate in the realm of dualisms.  They are “good” and others are “bad.”  They know the “truth” while everyone else “lies.”  The rhetoric will intensify as time goes on, as hearts are captivated.  They will begin to talk in terms of “righteous” and “evil,” as well as “light” and “darkness.”  A person’s place on the dark side of the dualism will give the leader all the right they need to silence, demean, or eliminate opposition. 

There is an apocalyptic vision at work, a rhetoric of the absolute.  Like quoted in a recent speech, they are the only ones able to take us into the “promised land.”  The cult leader is ushering in a new age of peace, harmony, and prosperity, a world built in the image of the creator, in this case the cult leader or demagogue.  Any means are justifiable in accomplishing this end.  Those that align themselves with the leader are a part of the true remnant of all that is good, true, and right, while others have already chosen their own demise.

As a pastor, I am amazed that what would be condemned outright if this were an extremist religious cultish sentiment would be tolerated in the name of partisan politics.  It speaks to the soul of our country and each of us individually.  Fear makes us the prey of alluring leaders who promise the world, but we must remember this is a world they’ve fashioned to serve their own agenda.  Religiously we would call this the supreme case of idolatry. 

We are better than this.

As a country we are better than this. 

We’ve fought too long in the preservation of freedom from tyranny and narcissistic leaders.  We’ve refused to give our souls away to substance-less leaders who “make it up as they go.” 

We must refuse the temptation to acquiesce to the culture of crisis.  We must refuse to drink the kool-aid.  It is time to shake off the stupor of fear and reclaim the spirit of courage that has long been part of our culture and society.  It is time to say no, not now, not ever!  

  

The Fallacy of Grace

There are two errors about grace.  Both are errors about how vast, wide, and all-consuming the grace of God is.

The first error is the unfortunate belief that grace is for everyone...EXCEPT ME.  This error seems to suggest that the unwarranted favor and boundless love of God, a love that meets us in spite of ourselves, is good for everyone, works for everyone, is given to everyone...but ME.

"I am too far outside the scope of grace."

"I've done too much, failed too much, let down too many, struggled too often, slipped up too many times, and am too insignificant, and I ALONE fall outside that vast grace of God.

The second error is similar to the first.  It seems to suggest that grace is for ME or for US (any randomly, narrowly or arbitrarily defined crowd) but not for THEM.  For ME/US grace is a delight.  For THEM grace is leniency, clemency, or softness.

"I know I need grace and I'm thankful for that grace, but THEY need to be held accountable, dealt with, treated in a way that constantly reminds THEM of the magnitude of their actions."

Even when grace happens for THEM, THEY are on grace probation, the terms of which can be withdrawn at any time.

Grace is only grace if it is grace for ALL, for ME and for THEM.  Grace left in our hands has boundaries and limitations, divyed out according to our fickle categories.  It goes "this far" and no further.  Grace left in the hands of God transcends all boundaries.  That's what makes it grace.  Grace is the posture of God towards ALL.  It is His loving, forgiving, patient, compelling, sustaining disposition to all people at all times.  Grace is the limitless reserve of God's favor and good will toward us.

Grace doesn't begin with stipulations and regulations, but with the hopefulness that ALL will embrace it as gift.  Grace is God's arms flung wide open in expectant embrace.  It is His readiness to call ALL, to love ALL, to forgive ALL, to rescue ALL.  Grace is by nature God's inclusive design.  Grace makes space for ALL.  Grace is God's "yes" to us.  It is God's, "You've been invited in."

But with any gift lay the invitation.  "Will you accept it?"  Will you embrace grace, for YOU, but not only for YOU, but for ALL?

Awake Dreamers

What this world needs now is more young dreamers, artists, and poets, creators and collaborators, risk-takers and status quo questioners. This world needs young hearts and minds not constrained by the artificial limits of power, prestige, and prejudice handed down to them by previous generations of defenders of hard-line agendas.

We need Wing-Spreaders.

Those that will swoop down into the depths of human brokenness, tasting its bitter drink, only to soar to the heights of hope, painting the skies with the vivid colors of love and peace, healing and compassion.

What this world needs desperately now are young women and men who refuse to be lulled asleep by the endless monotony of entertainment and earning potential, but who are awakened to their purposes of beauty-making, bridge-building, peace-nurturing, world-healing possibilities. The hope of our future is not found in the posturing, power-asserting diatribes of today's politicians but in the hearts of our young people. Young people, that if we would encourage them to color outside the lines, might just conceive of a world incomprehensible to those of us limited by decades of cynicism and collusion with imagination-stealing powers of money, military might, and the molds of success and social status.

Awake Dreamers! Awake Poets! Awake Artists! Awake Creators! You, by the grace of God, are the hope of a world whose elders are too busy protecting and defending party lines to imagine the alternatives that God has already placed in your hearts.

Celebrating God's Faithfulness

Greetings and Happy New Year!!

                Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Bridgeway.   At the outset of every New Year, we begin to ask the question, “What might God have in store for Bridgeway and the communities that God has given us the privilege to impact in 2016?”  But…before we ask that question, it’s important that we pause and give glory to God for what He has done!

                Without a doubt this has been an intense year of ministry.  We’ve grown in some extremely exciting ways and felt the shifts and strains of that growth.  We’ve been pushed in some areas.  We’ve watched as some of our systems have broken down or needed tweaked in response to our growth.  We’ve developed new systems to meet the challenges of growth in some areas.  However, in all areas God has been faithful and you’ve weathered the changes with grace and perseverance.  I thank God for that and for you.

                Has it been a bit disorienting at times?  Has it been stressful at times?  Have there been moments when we’ve wanted to cry out, “Ummm, God I’m just getting used to the last change could you give me a moment before you change something else?”  Sure on all accounts.  There are seasons of ministry when staying in step with God’s Spirit and dependence on His sufficient Grace is a day by day, moment by moment necessity.  God is leading us through that kind of season! 

Think about what’s taken place in this last year…By the grace of God…

1.       We’ve added staff and move part-time staff to full-time status.

2.       We’ve changed our scheduling process church-wide to Planning Center.

3.       God has blessed us with nearly 50 baptisms.

4.       We’ve added a Saturday Night Service that weekly reaches about 100 people.

5.       We’ve added another campus in Marquette Heights, as a team of people gave countless hours to renovation at the same time sending dozens from the Pekin Campus to M.H.

6.       Watched as God has enabled an increase in giving.

7.       We’ve started a Backpack Program that now reaches over 200 kids weekly at Wilson School.

8.       We’ve set the foundation for Celebrate Recovery which will launch in 1 month.

9.       God’s empowered and raised up new leaders in every area of ministry.

10.   Witnessed many saved and lives changed.

11.   Changed our formatting in both Youth and Children’s ministry.

12.   Validated the call to ministry of nearly a dozen people.

13.   Celebrated a number of people gathering at the Pekin Campus every morning at 5:30am for prayer since October.

14.   Launched a Church-wide App. 

15.   And…(I’m sure you could add a few there.)

                To God be all the glory!  There are churches that would love to see any 1 or 2 of these in a given year.   For some reason, according to God’s wisdom and grace, He has entrusted us with this and for that I am both overwhelmed and thankful.  You’ve been a huge part of all that God has done in this place!

                With all that has taken place, there are some key elements that we must be attentive to.

1.       Unity – We must guard against anything that could creep in and challenge the unity of Bridgeway.  The Devil loves to look for any fissures or cracks that he can slide in and disrupt things.  We won’t always agree on every detail of change, however, if the Kingdom of God is driving our changes then, in prayer, we can learn to respect one another in the process and maintain the unity of Spirit, mission and vision of Bridgeway.

2.       Communicate, Communicate, Overcommunicate – Anytime we are on the kind of journey that BW is on, we much be intentional in communication.  We can’t assume that everyone knows what we are doing or why we are doing it.  This requires work from all of us.  Don’t allow any unvoiced or unexpressed concerns to become issues that create bitterness or doubt in your Spirit.  Communicate, ask, reach out to leaders and staff in your area of ministry.

3.       Prayer is Priority!! – People have asked me how long we will keep up this prayer at 5:30 in the morning.  Honestly, I have no idea, but I know we are nowhere close to it being over.  We regularly have 5 to 10 people each morning and I believe more will come. Prayer is the way in which we continually reorient ourselves to God’s direction and timing for all of life and ministry.

4.       People are the Priority – The programs, the campuses, the ministries we start are never the priority.  People are!  We must ensure that in our busyness and excitement about “doing new stuff” we don’t miss the people that we can affect with the gospel, people that need encouragement, people that need a friend. 

5.       Selflessness is a Priority – We must remember this is bigger than any one of us and requires all of us to come under the authority of God and the Scriptures, ensuring our hearts represent the humble call of servanthood. 

6.       Spiritual Growth is a Priority – We mustn’t ever become a 100 miles wide as a congregation and a half inch deep.  We will work to deepen our commitment to Christ, understand the call of God to be the Holy people of God, and strengthen our commitment to those practices that deepen our relationship with God. 

7.       Hugs and Laughter are a Priority – Huh?  This is huge.  We mustn’t ever take ourselves so seriously that we forget to laugh together, hug one another, and just enjoy sharing life with those we minister alongside.

                I am truly amazed to think about all that God might have in store for those communities that BW finds itself.  You are an integral part of that!  Please know that you are loved and appreciated.  As a staff we ask that you bear with us at times.  Much of this is new terrain for all of us.  We are seeking God, learning what we can from who we can, and trying to ensure our hearts are always in the right place.  If we mess up, please forgive us.  If you see us struggling, be a problem solver and not a problem spotter.  Love us as we love you in this journey. 

                On February 6^th and 7^th, I will again (one year from the last time we did this) stand before Bridgeway and not only celebrate what God has done but dream about what God is yet to do.  As I do that I want you to know that I am celebrating the faithfulness of God, your faithfulness, and renewing my commitment to you as your Pastor.

·         I renew my commitment to seeking the Kingdom of God first.  I ask God daily to orient me to things that concern Him and not my own agendas.

·         I renew my commitment to be your shepherd.  I am not a CEO.  I’m a pastor.  I love you and consider it a privilege and honor to walk alongside of you through the joys and struggles of your daily lives.

·         I renew my commitment to growing and learning.  I definitely don’t have all the answers.  I am trying to learn what I don’t know from people who know far more than I do. 

·         I renew my commitment to guard my heart.  I want nothing more than to be a faithful witness to God’s Kingdom.  I ask God to protect me from temptations and evil, lest I get lazy and stumble.  I ask you to pray for me as well.

God is up to something amazing here at Bridgeway.  I can’t believe I get to be a part of this.  I celebrate that each and every day.   Know that Angie and I love you.  We care about you and look forward to more years of God’s faithfulness still ahead. 

Your Pastor,

Jeff Stark  

In a Moment, In a Manger

It changed

                Everything

                as the radiant beams of God’s Glory

                                Leapt up

                From the most humble of circumstances

God’s Invasion of Grace

In a moment

In a manger

God punches through

                the veil that appeared to divide

                the Divine from the Down-Trodden

                the Holy from the Lowly

                the Eternal from the Time-Bound

In a moment

In a manger

God Himself

                In Son Jesus Christ

                Dawns the Fragility of Flesh

                                And…

                                Everything Changes

Because in that moment

In that manger

God would no longer be thought

                Only…for us

                Now…God with us

                God Himself

                                In Son Jesus Christ

                                Walking miles and miles

                                In the worn-through soles of our shoes

                                In the tattered garb of human frailty

                                Through the broken shards of earth-born living

In a moment

In a manger

Distance spanned

Division Eclipsed

The King from on High

                Had now come low

                Condescending to us

                                And we…

                Accosted, scandalized, captivated

                By the simplicity

                                Of the One that Comes

                                Not as conquering ruler

                                But…

                                                Suffering Servant

                                                As lowly peasant

                                                As One…like us

                                                As One…for us

                                                As One…with us

Who in a moment

In a manger

Wearing our Flesh

Filling our Fragility

Sanctifying our Skin

                In Coming to be as we are

                Makes possible

                                Our coming to be like He is

                                Humble

                                Whole

                                Holy

Yes Holy…

For this Invasion of Grace

Is not complete

In a moment

In a manger

                This moment is the set-up

                For moments to come

                                Of teaching

                                Walking

                                Sharing

                                Loving

                                Modeling

                                Calling

                                Struggling

                                Suffering

                                Dying

                                Rising

                                Ascending

                                And…

                                                Sending…of God Himself

                                                In Spirit

                                                That he is no longer

                                                Only God for us

                                                And God with us

                                                But now…God in us

For the One who in a moment

In a manger

Who takes up flesh

Now takes hold of our flesh

Inhabiting our fragility

Laying waste to our resistance

Invading our Space with His Grace

Filling up our Broken Cracks and Empty Places

                With the Glory

                the Radiance

                the Majesty

                of His limitless Grace

                So that in all things

                In all ways

                At all times

                We might become like

                The One who stooped low

                To become like us

In a Moment

In a Manger

Everything Changes

                And that…

                Is the Christmas Miracle.